Congressional candidates talk taxes, education in Saugus

Tuesday

Aug 26, 2014 at 2:10 PMAug 29, 2014 at 9:22 AM

By Kate Evanskevans@wickedlocal.com

Five congressional candidates seeking the 6th Essex District seat visited Saugus Monday night to discuss border patrol, taxes and affordable education.Panelists included Seth Moulton, D-Salem, Marisa DeFranco, D-Middleton, John Devine, D-Rockport, John Gutta, D-Groveland, and Chris Stockwell, I-Marblehead. Richard Tisei, R-Wakefield, and incumbent John Tierney, D- Salem, were unable to attend the forum.Four of the present candidatesí names will appear on the Democratic ballot at the Sept. 9 primary election. One representative from each party will continue on to Novemberís general election.More than two-dozen citizens gathered at the Saugus Public Library Aug. 25 to meet the candidates and to question their views.Candidates first introduced themselves before fielding questions from the audience.Moulton is an Iraq War veteran with three Harvard degrees. His campaign focuses on veteran advocacy and affordable education. He plans to apply his leadership learned in the armed forces to his position in Washington, D.C. if elected.DeFranco has been running her immigration law practice since she was 26. She feels passionately about being a voice for small businesses. She called herself a good problem-solver who knows "how to get the job done."Devine has worked as a paralegal and a small business owner. He vocalized his concerns with climate change and its effect on the environment, and the nationís lack of a cohesive mental health policy.Gutta studied physics and worked as a manufacturing engineer for many years. He is a strong advocate for economic restructuring and the capitalist system. He refuses to accept more than $5 in donations from one place. In 2011 he published his book, "For a Fair America; the Cure for Our Sick Economy."As the raceís only independent candidate, Stockwell hopes to speak to the 55 percent of Massachusetts voters who are unenrolled in a party.Stockwell, who has 30 years of business experience, hopes his unique voice will bring Democrats and Republicans together in Washington, D.C.Border patrolWhen candidates were asked their stance on border patrol, Gutta responded that he would station most of the military members who are currently overseas at the U.S. border."[I would] use the army for what itís supposed to be used ó protect us," said Gutta. "The only reason weíre allowing so many immigrants in now is because it drives down wages in United States."While Moulton agreed that borders need to be secured, he vocalized his support for comprehensive immigration reform. He wants to make it possible for immigrants who contribute to society to live in the United States."There are reasonable things that both the right and left want," said Moulton. "And if we could just get people to have that conversation about where we can find common ground, we could get comprehensive immigration reform passed."Moulton spoke of his translator from Iraq, who was eventually able to teach Arabic in the U.S after extensive pro-bono services. Although he went on to become a productive member of society, Moulton emphasized the great lengths it took to get him here.DeFranco criticized the comprehensive immigration reform bill, saying it was written solely for corporations to access more foreign labor while small businesses are priced out of the market. She said the bill allows immigrants to become legal citizens despite up to two criminal misdemeanors."There has to be corollary penalty to people who broke the law," DeFranco said. "I have [law-abiding] clients waiting outside the country right now who have been waiting for 15 years. They have been waiting and doing it the right way."Instead, DeFranco would support increasing border patrol by placing customs border protection officers closer to the border. She would also increase port inspection.Devine, who supports securing the borders, commented that the countryís immigration law is "too complex" and that "it should be streamlined.""People are going to extremes to come to this country because of the conditions of poverty in which they live," said Devine.Stockwell believes in a path to citizenship for law-abiding undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for a "long time." He said that immigration needs to be processed more quickly so that children can either enter the United States or return to their homes.Stockwell suggested that the immigration overflow stems from a lack of opportunity below the southern border."We should partner with [these countries] to work to help them fix their countries and provide that economic opportunity for their children at home," said Stockwell. "You canít build the walls miles high and deep. Theyíll keep coming until you have a transformational solution."Affordable educationWhen a citizen inquired about better affordable education, DeFranco said she had the solution: only offer Stafford loan eligibility to colleges and universities if they reduce their tuition rates each year. That, and cap interest rates at 4 percent."Congress has the power of the purse," DeFranco said. "I want to see colleges reduce their tuition rates by 5 percent in the first year and 5 percent every consecutive year [after], or they are ineligible for the Stafford program."Devine challenged DeFranco, saying it would be unconstitutional to tell private schools they canít charge their desired rate.DeFranco cut Devine off, saying that is incorrect and she is the one with a law degree. She then clarified that participation in Stafford loans is a voluntary process for schools."If they want to participate, they abide by our rules," DeFranco said.Devine added that students should be allowed to refinance and that interest rates should be pegged down.Moulton told the audience that expensive education is a personal issue for him, as he said he is still paying off his college loans. Moulton took out his first loan out in 1997 ó the year Tierney was sworn into office."Over the 18 years, heís talked a lot about his seniority on the Education Committee, heís talked a lot about all the work he puts into lowering the cost of college, but it hasnít changed," Moulton said. "In fact, since 1998 the cost of college has gone up 90 percent."Moulton said tuition increases are the number one problem. An equally large issue, he asserted, is that colleges are able to raise tuition on the backs of student loans. Moulton supported tying participation in federal loan programs to tuition limits.Gutta said if we transition to Jeffersonian taxation, which is essentially eliminating taxes, it would supply the country with enough money to fund public education."Public funding from the federal government has been cut to almost nothing in order to give a massive tax cut to that 1 percent," Gutta said. "One of the reasons I decided to run against John Tierney was in 2012 they passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act. No one knows this but that gave the top 1 percent a $3 trillion estate tax cut, then it raised payroll taxes on people at the bottom."Meanwhile, Stockwell told the audience that his children attend state schools to save money. He said his kids get a "fantastic education" at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.Stockwell did say, however, "I think we should fund our public institutions more." He told the audience that online education would become a solution to this issue in years to come.The candidates also discussed their feelings on term limits and how they would treat national companies that moved their headquarters overseas to avoid taxes.